The End Justifies the Means
by ItsTrueIStalkYou
Summary: AU: They always said death is just the beginning, I just don't think they meant it so literally. Temporary Hiatus see profile
1. Prologue: Rewritten

Thank you for choosing my story to read! This story originally was my first on fanfiction and I have noticed significant problems in the chapters, so please bear with me. Thank you CrystallineX for being my original beta.

This chapter has been rewritten based on the changes in my writing style, the fact that I have now settled into this story considering it was my first and the reviews of SilveringBlue who pointed out many flaws in my chapter. Thank you to SilveringBlue who beta-ed this chapter for me.

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><p><strong>The End Justifies the Means.<strong>

**Romance, Gin/Sakura Naruto - Bleach crossover.**

**_:Prologue:_**

The end justifies the means.

What a strange phrase for my life to have once revolved around, 'the end justifies the means.'

Perhaps I am foolish to have lived my whole life by that one sentence. I am not some divine being that can judge someone, not by any means. I, too, was once human.

In my incompetent life it would seem that the end, unfortunately for me, does not justify the means. Far from it. For, you see, I have failed to do what I've worked so hard to accomplish.

My time, the lives I have taken, the things I have said, the lies I have spun and the opportunities for happiness I have thrown away, were they really all for nothing? How bitter it is to know what I sacrificed.

Who knows, all this may just be some sick delusion brought on by that man's Zanpakutō. Maybe this is his way to punish me for protecting that which I love, loved, most. Even the great Aizen is human, no matter how much he denies it.

And all humans are selfish creatures. They do not care who you are or what you do; they only care for themselves. The doctrine of self-preservation, I believe, describes not only human lifestyle, but Aizen's pathetic struggle for power the best. It is a cruel reality I have found to be true.

As for my own lifestyle, I'd like to believe I was a human who evolved into a snake that, no matter how idiotic it may be, strives to play the game called life based on that infuriating phrase, 'The end justifies the means.'

However, right now it seems I am stuck in a limbo state. My heart has beat its last… yet my brain still functions.

How long have I been like this? Perhaps hours. Perhaps seconds. Milliseconds, even. My thoughts are becoming discombobulated and hazy as my mind fades.

It is time to leave this life, I suppose.

"GIN!" A single cry of pain sounds through a broken battle field, filling that one word with such anguish.

Ah, my dear Matsumoto. You call to a corpse. Gin Ichimaru – former captain of the 3rd division, traitor to Soul Society – is dead. It's funny really, to die once and be thrown into Soul Society – a world of misfortune– only to die again, the moment I thought I had done something right for once, that the end I had created justified the means.

It didn't.

Ah, I really am a fool.

…It occurs to me that I sound like a babbling old man.

I am the snake who hides behind the mask of the smiling fox; a disastrous creature without emotions. But for the first time I am happy.

I am so glad.

I'm glad that I apologized, Rangiku.

Ah, Shinsō, do you see him too? I'm not hallucinating, am I? That boy… Ichigo Kurosaki… his eyes… they… hold more power in them. That's good… he's at… at a level… to defeat… and everything has faded to black… where are we now, Shinsō?

I am Gin Ichimaru, and this is where my life is supposed to end.

But sadly for me, it doesn't.

No.

This is where it all begins.


	2. I really hate not knowing: Rewritten

Hello again, I will apologies for this chapter being short and kind or prologue-e (This on is 793 words when the last one was 497 words.. it makes me happy…). The length in the chapters will slowly get longer or that is my plan.

I would like to thank you all for reading my story! I will try to update once a week or once every other week (manly once a week…)

Thank you again for reading!

**Disclaimer: (I forgot to do this last time…) I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BUT THE PLOT. - GIN AND THE NARUTO CHARACTER BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL CREATORS! (Tite Kubo – bleach… Masashi Kishimoto –Naruto)**

'_Blahblah.' – Shinsō talking._

'blahblah' – thoughts..

-Revised-

Yup.

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><p>: Chapter one- Ignorance is bliss:<p>

-Gin POV-

Black slug, ebony ink, charcoal, onyx silk, raven, shadowy, starless, hopeless, timeless …. Endless - an endless void of nothingness, a substance darker then black that clings to me and seems to stretch so far and yet still seems so close; I know that it is seeping through my skin, invading my mind. I know I am floating through this nothingness without weight and yet for some reason everything is heavy, burdened.

I have found that I am numb both physically and emotionally. Nothing. No pain. No fear. Not the slightest bit of amusement, irritation, happiness, gratitude.

Just emptiness.

How fitting a punishment for such a twisted creature.

How long has it been since I've seen the light? How long since I was free?

There are things here, watching me, I know it- their slimy gazes on my battered body- no, battered soul. I lost my body when this strange world came to be my reality. They flit around me in this world crawling across the void their slimy little eyes searching for answers I do not have.

How do I know this? Perhaps I was informed by the black shadows infiltrating my mind, or maybe those creatures who watch me so closely have whispered it into my subconscious. Who knows.

'Shinsō? Are you there? I'm not alone am I?'

_'No, I'm at the Bahamas. Wee.'_

'Your sarcasm goes unappreciated within this unattended hole in cosmos, sorry to disappoint you. How long have we been here anyway? What is here? Oh Shinsō, I really hate being ignorant.'

_'Idiot, this is your fault! If you would have listen to me and abandon that foolish little dream of yours we wouldn't be in this mess!'_

True, so true, I am a fool. Such dreams, such impossible dreams, they indeed should have been forgotten. Revenge, it is something that consumes you. I suppose this is what I get for following it like I did. For letting it turn me into what I have become.

'Still angry with me Shinsō? How unbecoming of you. You know as well as I do that in the end, we still would've died. At least we attempted to accomplish the impossible. You touched him Shinsō. We were clever enough. It would have worked.'

_'But we waited too long.'_

'Yes. We waited too long. What a pity'

There was a silence that felt like an eternity, before I continued,

'She cried again, you know. I felt the tears. Why would she cry for me? Do you know, Shinsō? I don't. Am I the cause of her tears? I was always the source of her tears, whether they were for me or because of me. I haven't the faintest idea why.'

_'How foolish of her.'_

Grey eyes filled to the brim with tears, pain and confusion haunted my thoughts like the ghost it seems I have become–

'Yes, how foolish indeed.'

Is this what I have been reduced to? Alone with only my Zanpakutō and memories to keep me sane?

I do suppose even they will fail me eventually, for when I truly lose my mind they will become nothing but whispers in a hectic battlefield until I become one of those things waiting in the shadows.

Who would have guessed what would happen next. It was improbable, most would even say impossible.

I -the former 3rd division captain of the Gotei 13- remanded in this disgusting state of emptiness for what seemed like years before the unexpected happened.

Who would have thought that when I would awaken again I would be in another world, another time? A time filled with things I never dreamed of. I would awaken to anther destiny, a new life, a second chance.

A second chance for the happiness that I never let myself have.

But as a wise man once said;

"Nothing comes without a price."

I would be a fool not to take that advice.


	3. I forgot: Rewritten

Welcome my lovely readers to Chapter two (technically three)!

Apparently I like cliffhangers.

Same as before:

'Blahblahblah' thoughts

'_Blahblahblah'_ Shinzō talking

_**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING, NOR WILL I EVER! Naruto and Bleach are property of their owners (not me)!**_

_**-REWRITTEN!-**_

Hi.

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><p>:Chapter two- I forgot:<p>

Pain, why pain? Where had my numbness gone? How strange it was that I could feel my legs, the pressure on my chest, my arm - arm**_s_** if you could count that fire like feeling that had come from my right.

'Shinsō, are we alive?'

_'From what I can tell, yes, don't ask me how, I don't know. Now let me sleep you blabbering fool.'_

'Shinsō, your words wound me, really they do!' I teased and patiently waited for a response, only to given the anticlimactic silence I was growing accustomed to from my Zanpakutō. 'Oh, so now I get the silent treatment, how mature of you Shinsō.' I snorted and rolled my eyes mentally as I tried to concentrate on my surroundings.

After a few agonizing moments of pure frustration my mind finally decided to take notice that the air was heavy with something unlike I had ever felt; it held a strange static-like hue with a somewhat heavy feel to it, denser than the energy used by soul reapers yet somehow so much more fluid and shaper.

A few more moments later the muffled voices of the birds had made its way to my ears; next, my groggy mind registered the soft feeling of whatever sheets that covered me.

Now, as could be predicted, irritation somehow seeped into my nearly dysfunctional mind, due to the lack of information I was gathering, and spurred me to abruptly force my eyes open… only to shut them again because of some accursed light. I could almost laugh, oh how I had missed light and it evil ways.

Cue the irritated sigh.

"Oh, you're awake! My name is Sakura, and I am your doctor." A cheerful voice invaded my ears from close by. Sliding into my age old mask I slow turned my head towards the nuisance… only to be paralyzed by the sight before me. Carefully I opened my left eye completely, unsure of whether or not I was seeing things.

'Pink…'

_'Pink? Why did you-..Oh..'_

'Shinsō, I think I have finally lost my mind. That freaky midget lieutenant of Kenpachi's should be the only one with such… heresy. '

_'Can't lose something you never had Gin, besides I kinda like it. Maybe you should look into the… possibilities with this one!'_

"Sir, are you alright?" the pink haired girl asked in a semi-professional voice, probably noticing my confusion. Oops, she wasn't supposed be able to read me...

How irritating.

"How long have I been asleep?" my voice came out scratchy and dry as I squinted my eyes back into my old guise. Patiently I waited for a response peering curiously around the room I am being kept in all the while trying to form coherent thoughts around the infernal headache I seem to have contracted.

White walls that met white tiled floors with white curtains separating two other equally white beds with a mahogany table separating each… it annoyingly reminded me of Las Noches. The only color in the room was the window, the bed side tables… and my doctor.

Pink hair and green eyes; are all the people going to look like this? Speaking of which, where is this?

"Better yet, tell me, where am I and how did I get here?" I can feel my head tilt to the side mockingly as I ask my question coyly. Well, as coyly as I can in such a state.

"A-at the moment you are at Konohagakure's hospital… My team found you on the way to do a mission. You've slept for about a week, and from the injuries you sustained, i-it's understandable. Now if you wouldn't mind" she paused to fiddle with her chart before continuing "I would like to know if you remember your name and where you are from." The unnerved pinkette managed to ask.

Team? Mission? Konohagakure? Vaguely the thought to face amnesia flickered lightly like a butterfly through my mind just to be quickly dismissed. I have nothing to lose, why not have some fun?

"Why of course I do." my grin grew as a look of irritation passed over her face at my response.

Perhaps the people here were rouge soul reapers? No, this Sakura girl seemed human. Some new species that resembled the Quincy? Unlikely.

"Will you please tell me your name and what village you are affiliated with?" she ground out. Her unnerving neon green eyes narrowed as she picked up a file and a black ink pen, as if she were prepared for a confession or something.

It takes all I can do not to scoff.

"I'll tell yah if yah get me some water. Don' think I can talk much more without some!" I stalled as I shifted my gaze to my right arm. Gauze was wrapped around it from the tips of my fingers to my shoulder, hiding the gruesome sight it must have been.

'How am I still alive? I felt my heart stop beating. I felt myself slip into a dark void of nonexistence. Yet here I am, in this place they call Konohagakure, with even my arm reattached? It seems much too good to be true. Not to mention they seemed to have saved my life when I'm almost positive no one but that Orihime girl had the ability to save me… Shinsō, I'm so confused.'

_'Feh, insane idiot. What am I some all-knowing genie?_'

'Why are you asking me? Aren't you supposed to be the all-knowing genie?'

_'Shut up, your water is here and pinky looks ready to murder you.'_

"Sir, here is your water. Now tell me who you are and what village you are from." My doctor growled through clenched teeth, as she slammed a glass of water – almost shattering the poor glass might I add – on the small bedside table next to me.

Murder indeed.

Silently taking the glass into my left hand and sipping it carefully I eyed the women who in turn watched my suspiciously.

"My name? Are you sure you want to know little one?" I purr, my voice even and smooth ecept for the occasional hitch.

"I am NOT a little girl! And of course I want to know your name I wouldn't have asked otherwise!" she snarled with clenched fists and a gleam of pure irritation in her eye, looking about ready to pound my face in.

"Oh really, well then," I murmured before I took a slow sip of my water and opened my eyes fully.

Blue met green...

"I forgot."

Perhaps I should have gone and looked for Shinsō, with his help I may have been able to stop the next event from occurring…

Oh well, all's well that ends well I suppose.

_'It didn't end well you idiot!'_


	4. Spy: Rewritten

Something is wrong with me, I spent one hour on YouTube watching Naruto characters doing the Caipirinha. This chapter was hard to wright so I will admit I was procrastinating, a little, maybe.

Anyway~ This chapter has not been looked over because my beta is temporally busy, I am sorry if I change it later on. Speaking of which I have changed chapter two (chapter one: I really hate not knowing) a bit, it flows much better now. I'm sorry I'm changing so much! I reread some of the things I write a week later and end up staring at my computer screen for some time irritated… Psh.

So next chapter if I make any changes to this one, I will inform you. Again I am sorry that my beta is busy and was unable to look over my work, I would not have posed at all if it was not for the fact I said I would try to post every Friday… feh, stupid deadlines…

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot change Tite Kubo owns bleach and Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.**

_'Blahblah.'_ – Shinsō talking.

'blahblah' – thoughts..

**_Edited:_** My Beta has gone over this chapter and I will admit I am more confident of it now :)

Thank you CrystallineX for being my Beta.

_**-REVISED- **_

Ah... I'm getting there slowly but surely, my computer decided to take a field trip and I lost most my data than I had some family problems then well... crap happened.

I will be working more on this.

I seriously cannot make any promised.

I'm really sorry!

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><p>:Chapter three- spy:<p>

Surprise, irritation that grew into anger, suspicion, and ending with an inhuman calm very few can accomplish; I saw those emotions pass consecutively over my doctor's face.

She was much too easy to read. Perhaps she should fix that.

Slowly I lowered my cup and placed it on the table next to me watching my doctor. No not doctor, she was prepared to either kill or incapacitate me; no this woman defiantly was not my doctor any longer. The air around us was thick as if waiting, much like an observer eager to see the fight likely to break out any moment.

Abruptly, the medic pounced, a needle filled with some kind of drug or poison poised at the ready. You would think she would just go for a scalpel and finish me off that way but who am I to judge? I, being who I once was, reacted on instinct and darted from my bed-

Only to be overwhelmed by pain that had come from my mid-section, a crippling pain so intense it brought me to my knees black spots to my eyes.

A slight pressure at my neck alerted me to the fact the pink haired witch had manage to inject me with whatever it was inside that needle. Almost immediately my already compromised vision vanished and I was left to the mercy of my savior turned captor.

"…wake… we… no time…" I could hear muffled voices faded in and out like the static of an old television, pounding against my hazed mind, irritating it. Apparently the earlier events that had put me in this undesirable position had decided to rear their ugly heads, it was a pity really I had been having such a wonderful dream at the time.

"He's awake." A gruff voice sounded from my right, jarred me fully awake.

Reluctantly I slid my eyes open to meet the faces of those before me. At first everything had been blurry and disoriented. Once everything began to clear I could not help but be slightly amused with what I saw.

There before me was something so similar to district 88 I could feel the wave of memories trying to resurface, memories that I was, coincidentally, trying to forget.

_'Hey, sleepy head, like the caring idiotic partner that you are, care to elaborate on where we are? Yes? Wonderful! Get to it than protégé.' _Shinsō announced loudly and interrupted my musing all the while also managing to aggravate my already howling headache.

'Shut up, if I remember correctly you, my friend, are the all-knowing genie not me.' I snapped mentally as I observed the different people all staring at me like I was some criminal.

Didn't their mothers teach them not to judge a book by its cover?

I slowly slipped into my sly mask as I fully studied my surroundings in detail for the first time, my grin growing to astounding levels. From what I could see the room I was kept captive in was quite large, dome-shaped and windowless. Surrounding me in a circle were strangers, the flickering of the candles placed haphazardly around cast ominous shadows over their faces giving the strange room and its occupants a grim atmosphere.

"Ya know… this isn't very imaginative." I announced cheerfully as I purposefully pretended not to notice how I was bound painfully to a chair.

"Your hospitality should be given an award!" I couldn't help but snicker snidely after a few people took to glaring at me like I was an insect in their way.

"Who are you?" The same gruff voice from before repeated – more like demanded really- the question that undoubtedly got me into this mess. Slowly, I rotated my head to face the direction the voice was coming from.

"Who me?" I had asked in false innocence, shifting slightly as if I was attempting to point at myself- which, sadly enough only resulted in making my poor arm scream in pain. "Well, I'm no one, but I guess I'm someone, while I do suppose I could probably be anyone! But first and foremost I am one circle; I am the three of diamonds nothing but a knight of thirteen houses! I am metal, nice to meet you." I playfully spun a riddle as my grin slowly grew. Varying looks of confusion passed among the beings that surrounded me.

How incredibly amusing a sight it was.

"I asked for your name not some nonsense rhyme." My new friend, growled as he shifted within the shadows on the inside of my strange prison.

'Oh! Look Shinsō! I'm not alone in the circle of shame!'

_'You are the king of idiots._'

"What, nonsense? I haven't a clue what you are talking about!" I continued to play innocent while ignoring Shinsō's gibe.

"What village sent you?" questioned a cold female voice from behind.

"Yes, tell us, what village are you affiliated with?" a low and amused voice, obviously that of a male, snickered from my left.

"Where are you from? Why were you so badly beaten when team seven found you?" Another male voice asked from behind me.

Were they ganging up on me? Probably, and I say it was quite aggravating.

"Where am I from? Well last time I checked, I'm from the streets. What village do I belong to? I suppose you could call it a village but I'm afraid I do not belong to it; for you see by now they must think me dead. Perhaps I am dead, who am I to say?" I pondered aloud to avoid irritating my prosecutors too much.

_'Oi! I'm almost positive you're not that stupid boy! Stop playing your mind games before you get us killed again!'_

'I have a reason for my madness. If I tell them my name and they know or are in contact with the soul society then we will die again, if this is what I believe this to be then when I start talking about the soul society then they will think me crazy. Besides, we know nothing about this place except bits and pieces, we may be able to find something out if we listen and play with our words right.'

_'Well tone it down! Keep it up and we're dead! I don't want to die again because of your stupidity!'_

"What do you mean by that?" A lazy voice asked from my right interrupting my conversation with Shinsō.

"What?" I mumbled confused by the abrupt question.

"Why would your village think you dead? And what makes you think you're dead." The same voice drawled unenthusiastically.

'Oh? We have someone of high intelligence with us Shinsō.'

_'Why do you think that?'_

'He is using questions that seem important to try and get me to slip up. How intriguing.'

"Ya see the state I'm in now! People don' live through that kinda stuff, so the logical explanation would be that I'm dead! But I'm here talking to you, so maybe I'm not... Unless this is all some twisted thing my mind made up." I answered playfully knowing he would receive nothing from the insight.

"What you said before was a riddle wasn't it? You're either an –" a yawn interrupted him mid-sentence before he continued, "– insane psychopath, a spy, or you are testing us. I'm voting for the psychopath but all of them are possible." The voice murmured from its spot sounding muffled and agitated.

Ah, he found me out.

"If it was a riddle than why have you not solved it, hm?" I inquired as I strained my neck to get a look at the man.

"Too troublesome." A young man just barely out of his teenage years with soft chestnut hair pulled up in a spiky ponytail atop his head rested hit forehead on his arms sighed nearly blowing out a candle placed not far from him.

_'Give them a hint! We will be here all day if you don't'_

'No, I don't want to. One of them will figure it out eventually, or Spiky will be the one to give in and solve it.'

'_Stop wasting time and just tell them!'_

'Stop yelling at me, we're in no hurry.'

_'We're in no hurry? Paha! You can't even speak for yourself on that one! You're injured; you fool whatever pain medication they gave you is wearing off. I can only block the pain after the medication is gone for so long and trust me you don't have much more longer till you are running on borrowed time to remain conscious!'_

'How long?'

_'Oh? So I got your attention now?'_

'Just tell me you temperamental old man.'

_'You only have an hour at the most.'_

'Very well… I will give them a hint but it will not be much.'

"You're just a crazy old fool you silver haired idiot! Tell us your name or are we just to call you prisoner silver till we rip your true name from your lips!" a cruel voice barked with harsh impatiens.

"Say, do you think you could loosen my rope a bit? It's irritating my arm." I asked abruptly.

"What! Loosen your ropes? Are you stupid? This isn't a spa; we're not loosening your ropes so you can pull something on us, believe it! " screamed a voice to the right.

"Wait, did you just change the subject?" the enthusiastic voice from before murmured in surprise.

"No, why would I do that?" I remember snickering with my head tilted to the left and strange grin flashing triumphantly.

"Why did you change the subject?" He rephrased his earlier question with a sigh.

"Well, I can't answer that because I obviously didn't change the subject."

"Are you trying to draw my attention away from your riddle?" his eyes were rapt, unmoving and cold, trained only on me.

"No, not at all." My grin managed to widen even more.

"Is your name..." he paused shifting so his hands were together in some strange circle, his eyes closed as if he were actually contemplating it "… is it… Gin?" the spiky haired male finally asked me bluntly as he seemed slightly unsure.

"Oh, yes indeed it is, I would applaud you for figuring out but I'm afraid my hands are quite latterly tied." I could not help myself from teasing. "I am Gin, nice to meet you!"

"Well, now that we know your name, Gin; please do tell us what village you come from." A female's high pitched voice hissed somewhere in front of me.

"Sorry, already answered that question, try something else!" my voice echoed about, adding a creepy effect to my already strange persona.

"This is getting us nowhere. Ibiki you have complete control for now on; inform us of when you find anything out." Commanded a cold feminine voice whose owner hid somewhere I could not pinpoint.

"Thank you, Hokage." The distanced rustle of fabric sounded around me as each of my wardens stood up to leave. Abruptly a sharp pinch announced itself in my neck and forced me back into the now familiar darkness.

Little did I know that my next experience wouldn't be as pleasant as the last one.

Oh no, not pleasant at all.

But I don't suppose it needs to be pleasant for me to find some bitter amusement in it now does it?


	5. Evolution: Rewritten

I'm so sorry I'm late, I have no excuse.

I hope the longer chapter makes up for it.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot change Tite Kubo owns bleach and Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.**

Thank you CrystallineX for being my Beta!

_'Blahblah.'_ – Shinsō talking.

'blahblah' – thoughts..

_Rewritten (060113)_

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><p>Chapter four: Evolution<p>

The lonesome call of a crow sounded through the scorched and dying woodland, echoing unsteadily around me. The stars danced behind thin whips of clouds and waning crescent moon loomed over it all, as if waiting for the show to begin.

My surroundings crawled over my head, the fingers of dead and crooked trees reaching for one another in a twisted sense of a canapé. Why was I there? Where was there?

_"Gin!"_

'Rangiku?' I spun around and tried to locate where I had heard her sweet voice call to me, searching for the bright strawberry blonde hair and gray eyes while my bare feet stumbled on dirt and dried grass that crumbled like dust onto the waiting arms of the rocks

_"Fear is necessary for evolution. The fear that one could be destroyed at any moment…"_

Another voice... 'Aizen?' I thought uncertainly to myself as I stared uneasily around the small clearing carefully placing my vulnerable back to the rough bark of a thin tree.

Yes, that indeed had been Aizen's voice, and some of the exact words he had said before killing me.

How amusing.

_"…Become a Shinigami and change things…"_

A young voice said softly, sending panic through me.

'That's me, my voice, how is this possible?' I frantically thought as I whipped my head around quickly trying to locate the one who was trying to play with my mind.

_"…I don't remember your heart…"_

'Ichigo' I noted from the confines of my mind.

_"…The guardian opens the door when he loses…"_

"Even if the guardian loses, he is not to open the door. And as he failed as a guardian… he must be executed." I had found myself answering to the bodiless voice of Jidanbō as if compelled to play the part of the puppet.

_"…Let's go... to the edge of reason…"_

'Aizen again…' I noted with thick bitterness as his voice brought back the sting of his last devastating attack.

_"…would I still be able to say 'I love you' the same way I do today?"_

My heart constricted at those words, those words that made up my last thoughts to Rangiku.

_"Isn't it obvious? Because of you"_

"Why do I feel as if I am choking?" I had asked aloud to no one in particular.

_"…even one drop of blood... I'll kill you." _Hitsugaya's icy voice growled around me.

_"Why?"_

Rangiku's disembodied voice cried louder this time as it echoed around me making it seem as if the trees themselves were speaking.

_"…finally risen to an existence that surpasses…" _Aizen's voice whispered.

The voices that called out to me faded as if taunting me before resuming their torture.

_"…betray…"_

_"…necessary…"_

_"You're in the way."_

_"Shut up." I hissed_

_"…kind of resolve…"_

_"… so much faith in you…"_

Their voices began to bleed together turning into deafening roar of my past mistake, of the guilt I never knew I had. The pain in my chest began to grow and my breathing became even shallower the world dancing mockingly like if I reach out far enough it would all just stop.

A growl had cut through the voices from somewhere behind me, echoed around the clearing and managed to pull me back from the verge of insanity that always clung to my mind.

Slowly I turned towards the sound my mind racing in panic, paranoid thoughts whirling around like a small storm creating nothing but a jumbled mess. Pushing my back against another tree and desperately searching for Shinsō I watched the swirling wisps of smoke that formed a pack of wolves. The only seemingly Tangible part of their bodies was their glowing, unblinking, eyes as they stood not but a few feet from me

"Who are you really?" A gravelly voice sounded form one of the wolves whose eyes glowed a haunting blue.

"Who am I?" I murmured in confusion. For some reason I felt as if I was not to tell them, that it was a secret.

"Yes, who are you?" the voice was hypnotic compelling me to respond.

"Gin…" I paused, unsure if I should continue.

"What is your last name Gin?" whispered the voice; its eyes glared threw me.

"Ichi…maru." I hesitantly stuttered, bemused.

"And where are you from, Gin Ichimaru?" another voice called, its feathery tone compelling me to answer.

A light whisper faded in and out of my mind and with it, the dubious thoughts returned threefold.

"Who knows?" I dismissed carefully flashing an unsure grin.

The smoke around the wolves moved out over the earth like fog as they stared at me in what seemed like surprise.

"What is your purpose?" The gravelly voice took over again; my concerns vanished.

"What… do you mean…?" I blinked slowly as my smile dropped and my head turned curiously to the right.

"Why were you sent to the Leaf?" The voices called in unison, low with high, rough with soft.

_'Snap out of it!' _Roared a voice that had seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"Wha-" I began.

_'Tell them nothing! They have you under a trance, none of this is real!' _The same voice hissed.

'..Shin..sō?'

_'Yes, it's me you idiot now wake up before they try to reinforce whatever it is they are doing to put you in a trance like this!'_

"Why were you sent to the leaf Gin Ichimaru?" the wolves called out again.

'And per say, how do I do that?' I ask Shinsō as I ignored them.

_'I don't know, use that irritating will of yours, and find a way!'_

The fog began to ascend again and I turned inward in an attempt to keep away from the vile mist my nails digging sharply into the dead bark of the tree at my back. It was then I felt it.

A foreign thick energy-like substance that ran on a rampage through my body, pushing my own spiritual energy away and forcing its self in its place, a foreign substance that had no business being there.

'Shinsō, I need you to hold off the reinforcement they just used for a moment, can you do it?'

_'… Fine.'_ He grumbled with unconcealed irritation.

Running on what little time I had, I centered myself and concentrated on my reiatsu. Little by little I released it concentrating it all where the particular substance gathered in an attempt to flush it out. Pushing more and more on the foreign energy I slowly began to work it out of my system and out of my mind.

_'Hurry up; it's starting to affect me as well.'_ Shinsō cut into my concentration.

'I am almost done, hold on a bit longer.' I calmly responded as I concentrated again on eliminating the foreign reiatsu-like energy.

The first thing I noticed was that I was in a great deal of pain, my arm felt as if someone had taken it and poured liquid fire on the poor appendage and my chest felt as if it had split open.

Doing a quick run-through of my entire body, I made sure all was normal (or as normal as I could be in such a state) and slowly began to open my eyes. A dimly lit room with four people in animal masks and uniforms consisting of dark grey armor, arm guards and gloves stood scattered about the room; directly in front of me was a tall, intimidating man with two slash like scars on either side of his face and a bandanna covering his head. I suppose I would have noticed the chock on the large man's face if it wasn't for a splitting headache that made itself known as soon as my eyes met the dimmed light.

"How did you break out of our Jutsu?" A gravelly voice that I recognized rumbled.

'Hm, what did the female call him again…?'

_'Ibiki I think… wait why do you want to know?'_

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance… Ibiki, I believe, yes?" I called to him in a sing song voice filled with false cheerfulness as I leaned back in the uncomfortable chair I was beginning to get used to.

The man - Ibiki I assume- eyes widened slightly before he turned on his heels and exited the room.

"Come back soon!" I called after him as I twisted slightly in my chair in an attempt to watch him leave.

Unfortunately for me, such harsh movement jarred my pathetic arm sending a spasm through my body and an involuntary sleep to take hold of me.

* * *

><p>"Wake up." A soft hum ordered as I slowly slipped from the hold of the unconsciousness I had fallen into.<p>

I blinked my eyes, my hazy mind unsure of what was going on.

"Do you feel any pain?" The face of a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes came into focus as her soft voice called my attention to her.

Pain? No, I felt no pain, though every little thing had seemed overly amusing as a low bubble of laughter fought its way up my throat.

"Nope... I… don'… feel … pain!" I sang cheerfully through a fit of strangled snickers.

The girl blinked as she slowly nodded her head as if she was unsure of something before she lifted her hands and made a rather particular looking rectangular shape with her fingers. A tingling sensation ran through my body running from my head and down my spine before I was suddenly simply pushed back. I had encountered things like this before, far to use to the feeling of being shoved into a small cage within my own mind as someone else took over in my stead. Aizen I suppose was good for something.

I could feel the blasted female filtering through my mind as I patently watch with foolish amusement.

'It would be wise to leave.' I had warned her silently from my cage.

'Why, it's not like you can do anything.' The female's voice replied overconfidently as she began to copy some of my mind into something I could not see or feel.

'It's not me you should be worried about…' I snickered.

She continued to ignore my warnings as she moved through my mind trying to locate all the information on myself and her village I knew.

_'And who might you be?'_ Shinsō suddenly purred, his echo bouncing around as a pair of gold eyes glowed from the darkest part of my mind.

'What's going on? Who are you? What are you doing in here?' the female banshee screeched sounded in surprise.

'Oh, Shinsō! I've been waiting for you; it would seem this lovely young lady has taken over my mind. Would you perhaps give me a hand in getting rid of her so I can control my own body once more?' I called to him ignoring the woman.

_'What? Do I have to do everything, first you get stuck in that weird trance crap now this? I'm seriously considering challenging you again to see if you are still worthy of my greatness.' _Shinsō grumbled irritably.

'Come now, challenging me now will get you nowhere, we both know I would pass your little test.' I grinned.

There was a long pause as I waited for Shinsō to answer.

'Test? Challenge? Just who are you people!' the blonde hissed.

_'Oh shut up, and leave.'_ Shinsō had ordered as he pushed her forcefully from my mind, freeing me in the process.

As I reopened my eyes I grinned sinisterly at Ibiki and the fallen blonde and watched them gape at me in surprise.

"Peekaboo, I see you!" I laughed madly; that really was probably just the drugs talking... I think…

An explosion had suddenly sounded above us shook the walls sending rock scattering over us and almost managed to knock over my chair. My wardens glanced at one another and took off out the door.

Leaving me alone…

…still tied to a chair.

Weren't they nice?

Silently I began to shift and pull my arms, my teeth gritted as pain leaked into my drugged mind. I worked at the rope for what seemed like hours as explosions raged above me and the pain medication had begun to wane to nothing. By the time I finally managed to push the rope from my hands my wrists were mangled and slick with my own blood.

I just as silently took hold of my injured arm and held it close to my body as I closed my eyes and concentrated looking for the red spirit thread that would lead me to my only friend.

There.

I had snatched the ribbon from the air and moved for the door, spreading my senses to ensure the cost was clear and I would remained unbothered before my bare feet padded down the dimly lit hallway. I raced towards the other end of Shinsō's stained string down twisting halls and dim corridors.

Left, right, left, left, right, left, straight, right…

My shadow danced across the rock walls as I charged forward the rumbling of explosions becoming more and more frequent dislodging small rocks and dirt from the ceiling and onto the ground.

Right, right, left, right, left, right, left…

The ribbon abruptly stopped at a door.

'Found you.' I murmured to Shinsō as I reached for the handle.

_'Took you long enough!'_ Shinsō barked loudly.

I walked silently into the room as my gaze darted around in a frantic search for my Zanpakutō before stopping on a short blade its hilt of blue demands peeking from the cover of an array of knives and swords. I haphazardly flung the extra and unneeded scraps before gently picking it up, slipping it into the obi of my white hakama, and dashed out the door in search of a way out.

Blindly I ran the halls trusting only my instincts, time seemed to have vanished from this realm and by the time I found an ascending staircase an irritated growl had crawled up the back of my throat and tore through my teeth.

A loud rumble sounded to my right as my foot hit the ninth stare, the wall began to crumple almost burying me in an avalanche of rocks and boulders. The shifting of dirt danced in my ears, a harsh surface against my face and irritated arm was all I knew for a moment as a haze of confusion crawled across me. I shoved the offending chunks of earth from my person and I lifted my hand enough to point a finger upward in preparation of my next move.

"Hadō #4. Byakurai" I mumbled before a white flash of lightning temperedly overtook my vision and distroyed the rubble around me. Huffing out another irritated sigh I turned toward the gaping hole to the my right as I rest my left hand on Shinsō and sauntered forward before gazing evenly at the gruesome scene that had laid me.

Lifeless bodies were scattered about, torn and bloody, buildings lay in ruin and the pained moans and groans of the still living could be heard all around. Small battles started and ended at random intervals causing more destruction as explosives fell from the sky.

I remember feeling a pair of eyes on my back as I gazed onward at the battlefield before me.

"Watcha lookin at?" I snickered without moving my eyes from the disaster before me.


	6. We all fall down: Rewritten

Gah! I'm so sorry this took so long to write (and it's kind of short...) I've had some serious writers block and some word document problems...

Anyway Thank you for being patent!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot change Tite Kubo owns bleach and Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.**

Thank you CrystallineX for being my Beta!

_'Blahblah.'_ – Shinsō talking.

'blahblah' – Gin speaking to Shinsō

_Rewritten: 060113_

* * *

><p><strong>: Chapter five – …we all fall down:<strong>

It is within human nature to find out how things, for a lack of a better word, tick. It is wired into our brains; part of our instinct. Humans have been dissecting the minds and bodies of creatures we consider out of the norm since we could form coherent thoughts and decisions. We search for everything we can find, every little weakness, and strength.

Knowledge is our drug, what we want most from that in which is around us, whether it be human, animal, plant or inanimate.

In comparison, to the snake whose only instinct is to survive and reproduce humans are strange creatures. Complex and somewhat unpredictable, they have painted the snake in dark colors, and gave it a sinister past.

I remember once saying I am a human that evolved into a snake. That isn't exactly the truth;

no, not at all.

I am indeed a snake, but I still have a shred of humanity left within my mind – that curiosity, doubt, pain; those shadows of emotions I once had, the emotions I was unable to shake the day I had shed my human skin.

I suppose that would be the reason that I was staring puzzled at a giant blue skinned humanoid shark whom had their rather sharp teeth bared in what seemed to be a smile; its large hands holding me by my neck a few feet from the ground.

I suppose it could also be the reason I had gotten myself in such a strange predicament; that foolishness, that weakness.

Ah, and what wonderful situation I had gotten myself in, yes?

How had I ended up like this, trapped like some stupide anime? I do suppose I skipped a rather important part of my little story didn't I, allow me to regress then.

* * *

><p>"Watcha lookin at?" I snickered without moving my eyes from the battlefield before me.<p>

"A sickly old man, maybe he'll drop dead soon." A deep voice boomed from behind me.

_'Old man?... Psh!... You… you d-do… l-look… like.. an.. o-old man… with that… ridiculous… hair of y-yours!' _Shinsō cackled uncontrollably.

How irritating.

Silently I continued to watch the battles take place; knife- like objects flying through the air, people somehow controlling the element's and summoning strange creature.

'Just where am I? How? How can these people do such inhuman feats? How is any of this possible? How did I get to this place, in this world? I don't know and Shinsō… Shinsō I'm so confused.'

_'I haven't a clue but the guy behind you might.' _Shinsō hissed quietly in the back of my mind.

Slowly my famous grin faded back into place as my somewhat amused gaze flickered over the ruble and destruction in search of the source of some of the possible answers to my questions.

Red clouds outlined in white that was the first thing I saw of my opponent, and perhaps the most ordinary. He (I assume it was a he) was a tall creature; around six feet, with a sword almost as tall as himself wrapped with bandages. His most notable features was that of his blue skin and matching hair, sharpened teeth bared in a sadistic grin, and facial markings that resembled the gills of a fish.

"Oh? Well, I see a fish that's about to tell a poor sick old man all about this place. That is if you have an intellect high enough to form sentences longer than ten words." I taunted as a feral smirk made it way accost my face.

His sword launched forward and brawled through the air towards me with such speed I was forced to drawl Shinsō as my only means of protection. The earth beneath me cracked and buckled under the force of his fearsome sword and pain dulled my sight as my muscles strained to hold him back. Pain bloomed, sending involuntary tremors through my body and the now familiar black spots dancing in my eyes. Navy spikes darted from the sword impaling my in several places as my semi drugged mind struggled to form a strategy against the brute.

"Samehada likes your chakra, it's different from the others she's fed from." the man grinned as his beady eyes widened dangerously with excitement. Slowly I forced myself to focusing my attention on the sword, it was then I realized it was trying to take my reiatsu from me.

'Remind me to avoid his sword from now on, Shinsō.' I muttered and focused my mind on my surroundings.

Twisting my hand so it faced my strange opponent I centered myself and concentrated.

"Hadō #31, Shakkahō." I whispered before a large crimson ball of energy began to form at my palm.

"What the-" the man began before the crimson sphere shot forward in a pillar of bloodied light engulfing him, and if the fates have any pity for me killing him.

Smoke and dust curled around my feet and hung in the air dulling my sight and making it difficult to breathe as I fell to my knees. Placing my hands on the ground, I watched my blood pool around me and waited for the fatigue and pain that had suddenly reared their heads to pass or at become less apparent.

_'Hey! The science reject is still alive!'_ Shinsō snapped loudly his voice edged with panic.

It would seem that there is no pity for one such as myself.

I jerked my head up in an attempt to locate the large man through the slowly thinning debris that polluted the air. A dark shadow passed over me and as my pain was dulled by adrenaline, I instinctively dove away. The earth under and around me shattered as the force of my opponents attack crashed itself down upon it.

_'Move, idiot move! Run! Escape! In the condition you are in your no match for this brut!'_ Shinsō howled franticly.

Silently I flash stepped some feet away and took to my stance as I let my spiritual pressure rise.

_'Don't d-' _Shinsō began

The rocks danced as my reiatsu flickered like smoke around me.

"Ikorose, Shinsō" I whispered my grin growing as Shinsō's blade began to glow white. Shooting forward the tip of my blade raced toward the large blue man and impaled him through the heart forcing his body to tumble backwards like a lifeless ragdoll.

"Hm? My, my I was expecting more." I murmured aloud breathlessly. Slowly I turned to face the carnage of the battles around me again and slid Shinsō back into his sheath preparing to learn all I could from what was around me.

'That went well.' I snickered lightly to Shinsō.

_'Check the body, I have a b-' _Shinsō began before being cut off again by a large blue hand around my neck.

"Did you really think it would be that easy to kill me, old man?" the creature from before growled through teeth bared in some sick smile.

I clawed at my attackers hands and struggled to free myself as my already somewhat fogged mind slowly ascending into a forced slumber.

Perhaps this is where I will meet my untimely end.

How amusing it would be, Gin Ichimaru murdered by a fish.

Aizen would get a kick out of that wouldn't he?

Or...or perhaps not, perhaps the fates will decide they pity me, perhaps.

… Perhaps…

_'Do something!' _Shinsō's voice that yipped loudly in my head snapped me ever so slightly back into reality.

Perhaps I will live.

I gasped for breath with a forced my grin on my face as my uninjured arm darted to grab hold of my Zanpakutō. Deliberately I lifted Shinsō horizontally and pointed the tip of my blade directly in-between the large man's eyes;

"Bankia, Kamishini no Yari"


	7. Times running out

Shocking news everyone, I'M ALIVE! I just finished rewriting everything today. With school and my computer not being the amazing otherworldly thing I seem to be deluded into thinking it is everything has been an extremely slow process. I'm hoping to be more consistent with updating since I'm about to be on summer break.

This chapter is short for a reason I promise! I of course can't tell you why but I would like to hear why you think it is!

And no it's not because I'm an evil master mind trying to take over the world.

One last thing, it seems I may be without a Beta so there may be one or two stories like this one that only has my wonderful eyes looking out for it.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story's plot**

* * *

><p><strong>: Chapter six: times running out. :<strong>

One.

The pain was barely tolerable as my knees hit the ground and my lungs filled with blessed air.

Two.

I grinded my teeth and forced myself off the ground, torn finger nails clawing at displaced earth.

Three.

My opponent stumbled, his abomination griped like a lifeline as its hilt snaked up his arm.

Four.

My world was crawling from me and into some dark corner, fading from my view.

Five.

The humanoid creature rounded on me, his sharp teeth died pink with his own blood bared in a parody of a smile.

Six.

My reiatsu, nearly nonexistent as it was, spiked as I prepared to stall my inevitable demise.

Seven.

His fingers danced in a sequence I had never seen as his eyes, blinded by a wound that once bleed, widened.

Eight.

The soft sound of pebbles shifting came from behind me before I was blinded by green.

Nine.

The world tilted as my body and mind finally reconnected, the adrenaline easing out of my blood. Brightly colored dots danced in my vision as I watch the clouds go by, my mind and body slowly shutting down from strain my Bankia and the battle had caused my already broken body.

Ten.

A flash of pink and my world faded to black.


	8. Revelation

Ah, you probably all hate me right now. I'm sorry for the lack of content recently, and I am afraid it may not change. I'm hoping by pretty much cutting what I would like to be a chapter in half I can get more chapters out there to you all. It will most definitely not be every day, but I am hoping for at least an every week update for you all. My beta still has not gotten back to me about this chapter so it may change, I just feel really bad not having anything for you all.

Also good new! One of the main reasons I was having trouble with this story was because of the fact that I did not have the plot completely planned out. I had some vague notion of what I wanted to happen but as some of you may or may not have noticed I am extremely detail ordinate so that was not really cutting it. with the help of my Beta I was able to hammer out some kinks in the plot and get an outline of what I wanted to do. That is good new because it means that everything is easier for me to write and there for more likely to get written.

Quick question, do you all think I should remove the authors note I left at the chapter seven slot?

Comments and criticisms welcomed. I try to answer all reviews I get privately and PM's are welcomed if you want to just chat about things.

This chapter is 2098 words (six pages in word document) long.

**Disclaimer: If I owned either of the anime worlds I have centered this story around everyone would be dead by something ridiculous, oh wait Tite Kubo has that covered with Aizen doesn't he**

* * *

><p>:Chapter seven - Revelation:<p>

Who knows how long I was locked within a cell of mocking walls clawing at a sloping ceiling, biting iron, and an arm wrapped awkwardly to an already heavily bandaged torso before my mind reached an understanding.

I was a ghost.

Ultimately I believe I had been one for an untold amount of time, so long the idea had seeded itself in my core. I didn't know when this switch occurred, I did not know if it was a slow process or one that happened in a blink of an eye. I knew it happened long before I met Rangiku, when this Gin Ichimaru became nothing but a wrathful ghost that was never meant to be, let alone anything else.

A ghost of what I should be, should have been, and will be because the dead can never truly walk amongst the living.

That train of thought drew my mind in a skewed line paralleled by a sonnet of mocking laughs, sweet smiles, and the tasteless solitude. One limping onward in a pathetic parody of a dragging corpse of the present barely holding onto what should be and what could be while the other marched ahead as a manifestation of the past and what I had left when that man brought down his foot above my head and crushed me like an insignificant **bug.**

Not a man, not even a ghost, a bug.

The parallel I watched slowly began to merge and introduce itself as a fraud that tore its path in my mind, dragging me to places with eyes that watch and clawed, and where emotion was not, and where life was nothing but a pit that never ended, a place for you to rot as it watched on, its mouth agape with harsh laughter, rancid flesh lingered and -

To my once death.

I was Gin Ichimaru, Ghost, bug, traitor, friend to some, enemy to many, once the captain of the 3rd division, twice a monster and a freak.

I died and then I was here.

That Gin Ichimaru died and once again I chose to shed my skin.

It was then, in that cell, I simply became Gin Ichimaru, a ghost of unknown origins and affiliations.

I was just a ghost.

But I would not remain so for long.

"I'm ready to talk."

* * *

><p>It took approximately three hours to get an audience with the leader the people who had kept me so hospitably in their choking hold. She was an opposing figure sporting a young sneering face and old eyes as she glared down her nose at me.<p>

Nothing new there.

"Gin Ichimaru, but I suppose you already know that seeing as it has been all you have managed to get out of me." I bared my teeth in a masquerading grin as she continued to stare down at me. She was like him, or at least I thought so. Captain Yamamoto that is. She held the same stare he did, the one that told you just how horrible a person they knew you to be without even the need to know of your sins. They could see the stains on your soul and that was more than enough for them.

I always hated those types of people.

However I almost always ended up having to rely on them one way or another.

"You have some nerve choosing to talk now of all times with all the trouble you caused us!" she boomed from the door of my cell, a foot sliding forward putting her just inside the door. It was a nice intimidation attempt; stepping forward to give me sense of aggression and control.

"Yes well, we all must adapt while we can. Now I'll be nice and answer all your little questions if you tell what I want to know then we both go on our dandy way the end." I grinned as I shook the chains that bound me to the cracked stone wall pointedly. My sudden movements and the loud noise drew attention to my restrained status; a preverbal white flag of surrender.

Her ever growing snarl seemed to pause as her eyebrows climbed her forehead in disbelief, "Alright I'll bite," her arms crossed and her body seemed to relax a bit as she calmly walked the length of my cell as her next words came, fell emotionlessly at my feet, "but you have to let one of my men into your head so I can assure you are speaking the truth." She was relaxed meaning she felt in control. The pacing was to give me the feeling that she had better places to be. Though the folded arms, defensive, was a bit contradictory leaving behind a rather mixed message.

"How about we skip all the bush beating and let the little lady come on by to take a peek at all that pertains to why I am here and whether I am a threat to you and yours." I murmured as my strained smirk crumbled around the edges. Showing weakness; an apology for past actions.

Her back went rigged and her crossed arms falling to her waist before she rounded on me her teeth bared in a wicked sneer, "How about we get from your head what we want? You cooperate or die." Her voice reverberated off the walls and surrounded me with a note of dismissal. The abrupt stiffening meant she was insulted. The hand on waist was a sign of blatant disproval. All of that topped off with the sudden movement towards my person was all rather aggressive and displeased. Perhaps it was time for a bit of a tactic change; perhaps a mild threat was need in order to make her take me seriously.

"I don't suppose your little village could afford any more enemies, but alas I am but a lost lowly little foreigner with little power to back up any claims of destruction." I whispered as I slowly uncoiled my reiatsu and let it thicken the air as I met her eyes.

"Was that a threat?" She hissed as her body settled itself into fighting stance. Abort tactic.

"Of course not Ma'am, I am the one in chains after all and am in no position to threaten anyone." I smiled as I smothered my reiatsu once again. She stared at me a moment longer before turning on her heal and stomping from the cell. She left her back exposed for long period of time as she left meaning she held a belief that I am of no threat to her and hers.

_'That went absolutely fantastically, you should get an award. An award with the letter socially inept carved in it you moron!'_ Shinsō suddenly barked.

'I'll have you know that your snarky little comments are completely unnecessary,' I huffed as I rearranged my chains for the fifth time, 'she will bite my bait. Curiosity killed the cat after all.' I had almost gotten to the point that counting the links would be considered entertaining to me.

_'What was that?'_ Shinsō hissed

'I'm afraid you will have to be more specific.'

_'What, in all that is in this world, possessed you to sign your death warrant?'_

'I didn't sign any death warrant.'

_'Oh contraire my hateful wielder, you just threatened her village and if that isn't a death warrant then people here really need to get their priorities checked. Besides what even gives you the idea what she is curious?'_

'She wasn't taking me seriously and would have tried something idiotic, I've sufficiently warned her against such actions. She still doesn't see me as a threat. However, I have gained her attention.'

Thirty six links per wrist and forty two per ankle, each approximately 10 centimeters in length when bent straight, made out of an unfamiliar iron alloy.

_'It wasn't the time to throw your nonexistent weight around.'_

'I will find a way out of here if we have to.'

_'Don't make promises you can't keep.'_

'It wasn't a promise, it was a fact.' I thought to Shinsō one last time before drifting to sleep.

You would think I would have been used to it by then. The whole go to sleep one place wake up in another. It's something I had been introduced to with a careful persistence, since I ended up in this location bound by my lies and an ever present sneer.

The girly was there, at least, so I knew that boss lady had followed through on her end. One could hope that it would continue on its marching marry way. That was optimism at its finest right there.

I felt the moment she entered my mind, the moment things started to fade around the edges. I felt Shinsō's attention settle on her and felt as she began to retreat. It had been a while since I let myself truly feel anything.

We did what we could to make sure she stayed, we dragged her down to our mindscape.

The forest was as it had been when the scar guy, something-iki, and his collection of masked men had barged into my head.

Everything was dead.

She looked terrified. Smart girl.

"Welcome to my wonderful mind full of sunshine and joy." I deadpanned watching as her terrified expression slowly melted into one of pure horror.

"How could anyone's mind be this bad off and still manage to function? How is it possible for you to form any kind of decision with this kind of depression and mental scars?" She screeched as she stared at the broken and twisted branches illuminated by an ever watching moon.

"I just do." I snarled agitated by the intruding presence in my mind, "Now get this over with will you, I don't want you in here any longer than you have to be."

She stared at me a moment longer before she slowly began to make her way to the closest decaying cypress tree. As she picked her way through the clearing my focus began to slowly slip. Whatever it is that she tried, when we first met, slid into the forefront of my mind and as she hesitantly laid her hand against the bark my world faded into that of the past.

Everything I had ever done, my life in its entirety, filtered through my mind like sand through an hour glass. Wounds long suppressed, regrets once forgotten, all made their selves known at once as I heard a high pitched scream of terror and pain.

I watched my younger self scrounge for food, steal off those only slightly more fortune than myself. Watched my mask begin to form as they sneered and jeered at me from their self-made pedestals. The Rukon District was cruel and cold, never mind the many people that resided there. I watched as the world lighted and came into focus as I met Rangiku for the first time, as I offered some of the dried persimmon I had learned to always keep on my person. Watched as I became needed, as my world sharpened and I was given meaning. Then he happened. Just seeing him again touching her was enough for the cold rage to slither through my veins again.

I couldn't make it **stop.**

I never seemed to ever be able to.

* * *

><p>The whole falling unconscience at the most inopportune times thing was becoming a bad habit I would have to invest in breaking. It was almost as bad as the fact that I had been moved while I was otherwise indisposed. Again! On top of it all everything was pounding a war rhythm of agony; my arm, my chest, my back, my head – what even had they done to my head? Take a sledge hammer to it?<p>

_'This whole not paying attention to surroundings needs to stop as well. You know, before you really get us killed.'_ Shinsō snapped.

'Easy there my pointy friend, patience is a virtue.'

_'One I do not particularly care to have, now get with the paying attention hairless monkey.'_

I was on an actual bed, I could tell that much without opening my eyes. That meant my original assumption that they had moved me, again, was correct. The question was: why would they have removed my restraints? I couldn't remember anything after the impromptu meeting with the lovely leader of these heathens.

Nothing.

_'She knows everything; saw it all as she shredded through your mind. I'm the only reason you are not a weird looking potato.'_

Then for the third time in my long life; I saw **red.**


End file.
